Marco G. Pansa's research while affiliated with Università degli Studi di Torino and other places

... For morphological identification, parasitoid samples were removed from alcohol, dried, glued to card points and examined with a stereomicroscope (Wild M5A, Heerbrugg, Switzerland) illuminated by a LED spotlight at a magnification of up to 100×. The identification keys and morphological diagnosis of Kozlov and Kononova (1983), Talamas et al. (2017), Tortorici et al. (2019), and Moraglio et al. (2021) were used to identify Scelionidae. Anastatus species were identified using the key of Peng et al. (2020), Ooencyrtus species were identified following Samra et al. (2018) and Triapitsyn et al. (2020), while Acroclisoides species were identified following Grissell and Smith (2006) and Sabbatini Peverieri et al. (2019). ...

... Hail netting has gained popularity in pome fruit orchards worldwide to exclude and protect against insect pests (17)(18)(19). Over the last 20 years, the suppression effect of exclusion netting used in pear and apple orchards for codling moth and brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) has been well documented in French and Italian orchards (20, 21). ...

... In Europe, the generalist Anastatus bifasciatus (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae) was the main species emerging from both field-laid and sentinel H. halys egg masses in Italy and Switzerland (Haye et al. 2015a;Roversi et al. 2017;Costi et al. 2019;Moraglio et al. 2020), while Trissolcus kozlovi Rjachovskij (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae) was a promising but rare parasitoid emerging from H. halys eggs in northern Italy (Scaccini et al. 2020;Moraglio et al. 2021a;Zapponi et al. 2021). Both these native parasitoids were considered for an augmentative release strategy, but without effectively suppressing the pest so far (Stahl et al. 2019a;Moraglio et al. 2021b;Iacovone et al. 2022). ...

... All emerged parasitoids from BMSB eggs were identified morphologically using the keys developed by Talamas et al. (Talamas et al. 2017) and Tortorici et al. (Tortorici et al. 2019) for Trissolcus and Peng et al. for Anastatus (Peng et al. 2017(Peng et al. , 2020, respectively. Specimens were checked under stereomicroscope (Olympus SZX10 SZX2-ILLT connected to an Olympus LG-PS2 Microscope Ring Light Illuminator and DP80 digital camera, Olympus Corp., Tokyo, Japan) and photographs were captured in super-depth-of-field three-dimensional microscopy system (VHX-2000). ...

... In the different regions of China as well as Switzerland and Italy, efforts are currently underway to use Trissolcus or Anastatus wasps for augmentative releases to mitigate crop damage from BMSB (Stahl et al. 2019b;Mi et al. 2022). Surveying of released parasitoid species is especially important to assess the ability of the parasitoid species to overwinter, field release efficiency, the time frame in which parasitism tends to occur, and the identity of the parasitoid in the absence of the emergence (Herlihy et al. 2016;Moraglio et al. 2020). In all these studies, a rapid identification method can facilitate the speed and accessibility of research results to make a evidence-based decision in a bological control context. ...

... Algumas práticas culturais como o emprego de malhas ou telas de sombreamento coloridas podem influenciar nas características qualitativas e quantitativas das frutas. Inicialmente as malhas são indicadas para proteção de granizo, vento, pássaros, excessiva irradiação solar, e mais recentemente de insetos podendo contribuir para uma produção sustentável (CANDIAN et al. 2020, MANJA & AOUN 2019, VUKOVIĆ et al. 2022. Estas malhas permitem alterar a qualidade e a quantidade de radiação que atingem as plantas, interferindo em maior ou menor escala na sua atividade fotossintética a depender da coloração e do percentual de sombreamento que proporciona (OLIVEIRA et al. 2021). ...

... In Italy, it has also been documented that flat hail netting suspended horizontally over trees can interfere with male codling moth's ability to approach and mate with females, resulting in reduced fruit damage (Tasin et al. 2008). Another Italian study in apple showed that single-row hail netting (2.4 × 4.8 mm mesh) effectively excluded a pest complex composed of Tortricid moths, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), and Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), with no detrimental effect on fruit quality at harvest time (Candian et al. 2018). ...

... 26 After hatching, F. auricularia nymphs undergo a series of moults until adulthood is reached. There are four nymphal stages of development, called instars. 4 The lifecycle of F. auricularia has been examined in cool and temperate regions in the Northern hemisphere, [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] with information recently garnered from Australian orchard environments 41,42 and New Zealand. 20,43 Oviposition occurs within subterranean nests excavated by the female, in the northern hemisphere, this typically occurs from late summer to spring depending on the region. ...

... We also describe the effects of exposing the identified volatiles on a shield bug, the Bishop's Mitre. The Bishop's Mitre (Aelia acuminata L., Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a common and dominant species of shield bug that causes kernel damage in wheat across Europe [11]. The threat they present is currently limited, but with increasing global warming the impact of Bishop's Mitre shieldbugs, and sunbugs in general, on wheat cultivation is significantly increasing [12]. ...

... The use of companion plants seems to provide oviposition and feeding sites useful for predaceous mirids (Parolin et al. 2012). In the Mediterranean region, predatory mirid bugs frequently migrate from spontaneous vegetation surrounding the crops into greenhouses, thus contributing to pest control (Castañé et al. 2004;Ingegno et al. 2009;Perdikis et al. 2011). ...